Austin Film Festival Announces More Screenings, Including World Premieres

For its 30th anniversary, the Austin Film Festival is pulling out all the stops. While talent will remain unavailable unless the strike is resolved, there will be plenty of movies for fans to enjoy.

Among the titles announced in this second wave are Alexander Payne's The Holdovers, which got strong reviews at Toronto and Telluride. The holiday dramedy is one of my most anticipated movies of the fall, and marks Paul Giamatti's reunion with the director of Sideways. Expect plenty of Oscar buzz for the star, who's only been nominated once (for Cinderella Man). Also getting strong notices is Andrew Haigh's latest All of Us Strangers. The romantic drama stars Andrew Scott (Fleabag's Hot Priest), who will also be in the awards conversation this year.

AFF marks the world premieres of the horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked and the family drama Christmess. Other highlights include Apple's sci-fi romance Fingernails and the vital documentary First We Bombed New Mexico, about the (literal) fallout from Oppenheimer's nuclear tests.

The festival will also honor Damon Lindelof with the Outstanding Television Writer Award. An accomplished writer for the big screen, his vast body of work for TV includes the hit Emmy-winning Lost and Watchmen, as well as the acclaimed dramas The Leftovers and Mrs. Davis.

The Austin Film Festival runs from October 26 to November 2.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.